EVENTS

Trump reneges on promise to debate Sanders

Donald Trump initially welcomed the idea of debating Bernie Sanders but then put in a condition saying that he would do so only if the debate sponsors would put up $10 million to be given to charity. That ploy seemed to be designed to avoid him carrying through on his promise. Then Richie Hecker, chairman and CEO of a tech company called Traction and Scale, came forward and made just such an offer.

When Sanders was told that Trump had reneged, he ridiculed him, asking him why he was so afraid to debate the important issues that faced the nation. Watch Sanders.

I have heard critics suggest that Sanders should not do this debate because it will only help Trump. As I have said many times before, making elections into an exclusive focus on winning and losing is a mistake. At their best, elections should serve to provide enlightenment on important issues and give the public a wide range of views. And there is no better time that during a presidential election which is when most people are paying attention. A debate between Trump and Sanders would draw a huge audience and provide sharply contrasting views, between the humane, science-based, democratic socialist views of Sanders and the bombastic, climate-change denying, xenophobic, sexist, and incoherent views of Trump. Trump’s reversal on debating Sanders may be due to a belated realization by him that Sanders cannot be rolled over the way he did with his Republican rivals and that he would not come out well.

Sanders had an excellent interview with Bill Maher about the difficulty of dealing with someone who is chronically dishonest like Trump who does not seem to feel bound by anything he says.

I think Sanders is beating Trump better than Clinton in some polls is because neither Trump nor the GOP have turned their missles on him, figuring that Clinton would be the opponent. If the Republicans focused like a laser beam on him they the way they do her, Bernie’s numbers would come down.

I don’t think the GOP could possibly use any line of attack that Clinton’s campaign hasn’t used before. I must have seen at least 7 different instances when the first question in an interview with Sanders is some nonsense about Fidel Castro, attempting to dog-whistle a red scare. Calling him a Communist is the obvious first line of attack.

Truth is, the Cold War ended a long time ago. 33% of the American population wasn’t even born when the Soviet Union dissolved. The “Evil Commie” trope doesn’t have the strength it used to.

In any case, character attacks take time to hit. Most people already have an unfavorable opinion of Hillary Clinton. Maybe you think she doesn’t deserve it, that it’s based on lies (I’ve heard that one before). Maybe you think most of it is warranted (I do).
I think we can both agree that, for whatever reason, people already dislike her. Nearly as much as they dislike Donald Trump. Last numbers I saw, it’s 53% unfavorable opinions for Clinton, 60% for Trump.

No amount of propaganda in the time between the Philadelphia Convention and the General Election can possibly have the same effect as 30 years of bad rep. No amount of propaganda can bring Bernie Sanders That Low, at least not on such short notice.

I do not believe the establishment Democratic super-delegates will switch, no matter what the polls say. I think Sanders is more dangerous (to their minds) to what they want than Trump is, and of course they’ll be able to pretend the data away, which is a skill most people have.

Les promesses n’engagent que ceux qui les écoutent
Promises bind only those who heed them
When it comes to Trump, one shouldn’t pay any attention to his pledges to act honorably unless they have the means to force him to comply.